[New Quest Received]
[Show the trait of a chosen leader and lead your team to avoid a humiliating defeat]
[Reward: New Attribute]
"Huh? What the hell?"
"A... A chosen leader, you say?"
The system message appeared immediately after the coach blew his whistle, and Emmy couldn't take his eyes off it. Even the system knew they would be defeated, but it wanted Emmy, as both the captain and his team's coach, to avoid suffering a humiliating defeat.
What did that mean?
"It's the same as what the coach said,"
Emmy realized. The coach had told them to give it their all and not make it an easy win for their opponents, and that's exactly what the system wanted him to do.
"I just hope these idiots won't mess up because..."
Emmy wanted to cry upon thinking of what the penalty might be. Although the system didn't mention anything about a penalty for failing the quest, Emmy knew better.
"This is going to be tough,"
He muttered as the seniors made the kickoff pass and got the ball back to their box.
The newbies charged forward without wasting a second.
In an instant, one of the newbies' strikers appeared in front of the opponent and aimed to kick the ball, but his leg simply phased through it and kicked nothing but air. He lost balance and fell.
The seniors charged the ball forward, dribbling past a few players, including Emmy, before passing the ball back.
For a dozen minutes, the seniors did nothing but pass the ball among themselves, performing crazy moves to dribble their opponents. They didn't make any goal attempts—not because they didn't want to, but because they never got the chance. The newbies' defense was as strong as an impenetrable fortress, and they had the best keeper in the school.
It was always like this in the past—the coach would assign the newbies the best keeper while the seniors were given the second-best keeper. Both keepers had different abilities. Although the seniors always scored several goals against the best keeper, today felt different. It wasn't just because of the keeper but also because of the defenders.
As the match progressed, the seniors pressured the newbies to their extreme limit, forcing them to realize their potential and give them a tough match.
The two boys in the midfield with Emmy contributed the most to the match. With their flame and lightning abilities, they were almost everywhere, doing things they never believed they could. They gave the three senior strikers no chance to strike. Even Eric, one of the strikers, was hunted down alongside the others. Emmy knew those boys would surely be scolded at the end of the match because Eric looked frustrated.
One great advantage the newbies had was their keeper, who had the ability to peek into the future, and one defender who possessed telepathic abilities—a fantastic combination in a football match.
The keeper's ability to foresee moves made him the best keeper on the school team. However, they lacked someone who could share what he saw with the rest of the team, which was a flaw. That changed with the newly awakened telepathic defender, much to the coach's delight.
Even with these advantages, they still conceded a goal in the last couple of minutes before the first half ended and another goal just seconds before halftime when they had all run out of energy.
Both goals were scored by Eric, who unleashed the full extent of his power, making the scoreline 2–0 at the end of the first half.
"Ten minutes before the second half begins,"
The coach said, still stunned by the match he had just watched.
In the past, before Emmy and the others awakened, the seniors would have scored 10–12 goals by halftime, even while holding back. Yet now, despite playing at full strength, they barely managed to score two goals.
"It seems these two will be a great boon to the team,"
The coach thought, staring at the defender with the telepathic ability and the keeper.
---
After the first half ended, instead of going to the changing rooms to discuss as usual, both teams sat apart on the pitch, with the captains discussing strategies with their teammates.
Exhaustion was clearly written on Emmy's face, but he still stood in front of his teammates, analyzing the match with them.
"As predicted, the three strikers are the goal machines. In the past, they would've scored more than five goals by halftime, even while holding back. But now, they couldn't do anything because we were able to cooperate well and counter them,"
Emmy explained.
After receiving the system quest earlier, he had changed their formation. Although they still played with the same 4-3-3 formation, he changed the players' roles. The three strikers with speed-related abilities were tasked with keeping the midfielders in check while also helping hunt the strikers alongside Emmy and the two boys. The defenders were to keep the opponents away from their box while also sharing information from the keeper.
Communicating and sharing information from the keeper was the root of their success.
Emmy continued,
"Now, we must change our formation again. I'm sure every one of you can still play."
They nodded.
"We'll go for a 5-4-1 formation. But now, we are not just defending—we're also hunting for goals,"
Emmy said with a smile.
They all looked at him in disbelief, thinking he had gone crazy.
"What are you thinking? Have you lost it?"
Henry asked in disbelief.
"We barely defended ourselves against them, and now you think we can score a goal? You're delusional,"
Another boy added.
"You just said we are going with a 5-4-1 formation, which is clearly a defensive strategy. Now you want us to score a goal? We're all exhausted,"
Caren said.
Emmy smiled, sat down, and replied,
"I only said we're hunting for a goal. I didn't say it's compulsory. And have you guys forgotten? We know their next move before they play."
"Even so, we're all exhausted. I'm afraid we can't even defend anymore,"
Henry complained.
"Don't worry. There's someone on the bench who will be a great help,"
Emmy said, glancing at the newcomers. Their eyes suddenly shone as the same arrogant boy from earlier stood up and said,
"Oh wow, you finally thought of us. I was hoping you'd leave us here till the match ended, then you'd regret it."
"Well, thankfully, I didn't disappoint you,"
Emmy replied with a smile, then turned to another boy among them.
"Hey, buddy, we only need you,"
Emmy said, smiling at the brown-haired boy among the newcomers, ignoring the arrogant boy, who was already fuming with anger.
The brown-haired boy pointed at himself, clearly surprised. He seemed different from the others, almost scared.
"Huh, me? Why?"
The boy asked.
"Didn't you want to play?"
Emmy asked in an annoyed tone.
"Oh, yeah, I want to play. But these guys are better than me. Why not choose one of them?"
"Well, I don't really need you; it's just your ability we need,"
Emmy replied with a polite smile.
The boy jerked his head back, disbelief written on his face. Before he could respond, the arrogant boy interrupted.
"Who the hell do you think you are?"
The arrogant boy said, walking toward Emmy with measured steps.
"He's your captain and your coach at the moment,"
Coach Enzo interjected, his voice stern. The boy hurriedly stepped back, giving Emmy a strange look, as if saying,
"I'll catch you later."
Emmy smiled, then turned back to the brown-haired boy.
"So, what do you say? It's not mandatory for you to play. You can just help us from the bench with your ability."
During training, Emmy had noticed the abilities of the newcomers. The brown-haired boy possessed a strange power that boosted his comrades' stats—their overall strength, speed, stamina, and energy points. Despite being newly awakened, his ability was already at level 4, which was rare.
Emmy knew this boy was pivotal, but the others seemed to treat him differently. Emmy didn't care; he just needed his help.
The boy glanced at the arrogant boy, Blake, who looked away, signaling indifference. The brown-haired boy nodded, moved to Emmy, and touched his hand, repeating the action with the rest of the players.
Then he returned to his group and activated his ability.
Immediately, Emmy felt a wave of energy surge through him. At the same time, he received a system message:
[An unknown ability is trying to bypass the system and infiltrate the user's being.]
[User has no resistance against it.]
[An unknown ability has successfully infiltrated the user's being, but the system detects no harm from it.]
[All attributes and stats have increased by 20.]
[Strength: 10] +20
[Stamina: 11] +20
[Agility: 5] +20
[Speed: 15] +20
[Perception: 5] +20
[Endurance: 0] +20
[Resistance: 0] +20
Looking at it, Emmy couldn't help but smile.
"A whole 20 points. Damn."
He wished Sunny was there with him.
"Great! This is amazing. This will be very useful when we all get tired,"
Caren said, a large smile on his face.